Keeping a Distance
by SpeedReader9
Summary: Starbuck and Apollo think things over after Kara jumps to Caprica.
1. Starbuck

Disclaimer: Obviously not mine despite my dreams.

Note: This takes place after Starbuck has gone off to get the arrow. There's not an exact time but it's probably before she actually lands and all the excitement begins. Starbuck thinks about what she left behind and why she is who she is. The next chapter will be Apollo doing the same.

Kara Thrace was the infamous Starbuck. And if she wasn't infamous yet, she new it was only a matter of time. She was the best pilot out her. Not only that but she could out drink, out swear, and out play any of the others on the ship, guys and girls alike. That kind of thing could get a person a good name. So could her pastimes. She had a weakness for cigars and a good romp in bed. Her image was a hard shell, someone you don't cross, rash, and a good time. Yes, she wouldn't change who she was, despite the mistakes of the past.

And she really did believe that most of the time. It wasn't until she would sneak a glance at _him_, those rare times when they weren't screaming at each other that she would find another truth—there was one thing she would find herself wanting to change. During these rare times she would wish she had the willpower to break down the wall that had seemingly built itself after Zak's death.

Sometimes she would secretly watch him out of the corner of her eye and feel her heart beat even faster against those walls until the pain was just too much. This new desire to break those walls scared her. People died when Kara let them in. She made mistakes.

The two of them had never made any sense, even as friends. He lacked the ability to just let go and have fun and she lacked almost all the qualities he found important in a person. There was no reason in the whole frakking universe that she should find herself in this situation. But then she wouldn't have bet on the Cylons coming back and destroying everything either. Despite all her rationale, she still dreamt of him at night, still said an extra prayer to the Gods before he flew.

In fact, she was often rocked by just how much she wanted this man. She had slept with Gaius in an attempt to prove to herself that she didn't want Lee, she just wanted a nice warm body. Of course that had backfired drastically. Now she could no longer deny that it was only Lee that she wanted. And only Lee that she would never allow herself to have.

He was the CAG. Despite the hard time she gave him, when they were out there together, fighting side by side, she willingly put her life in his hands. And he put his in her hands where she would defend it with a ferocity it seemed only Apollo could bring out of her. Yes, she trusted him with her life. And on that slim chance that he faltered, because he was only human, all that would be lost was her life. Kara had learned long ago that there was pain worse than your own death.

The wall around her heart prevented her from feeling that pain again. And it frustrated her to have to feel pain in order to prevent a bigger pain in the future. When they were together she would have to goad him into a fight because anger was an emotion she knew how to deal with. Lee could give as good as he got when it came to her. And that anger would make him keep his distance for a while and while distance didn't help with the longing it did make it easier to breathe when she wasn't breathing in his scent.

He had been so angry with her before she left. He was so angry and it made her feel so guilty that she had just hauled off and punched him. And he punched her right back. And she felt even worse because that passion, albeit in anger, was threatening to break through and swallow them both up. At that moment she knew that the wall had failed and that if she could still love him after he punched her in the face then it was only a matter of time. So she took the president up on the mission to Caprica not to save them all but to save him. Because the last time Kara gave herself away so completely she had destroyed more than one life. It was a mistake she would never make again.


	2. Apollo

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

Notes: Lee's thoughts on the whole mess. At the end I tried to tie things into another reason why he would go along with the mutiny at the end of last season.

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Captain Lee Adama had always felt it was best to think, then act. So, in a way, it was lucky that he had always been a fast learner. It had helped him stay ahead of even the more impetuous students at the academy and it helped him aboard Galactica as well. He knew it was best to know every angle before jumping in head first. No, Lee was never one to act impulsively. He knew that some situations called for a person like that, but more often than not it would get you killed out here. Even though it drove others crazy to wait while he worked out problems in his head Lee was happy with that aspect of her personality and he wouldn't change it.

And he really did believe that most of the time. It wasn't until he would sneak a glance at _her_, those rare times when they weren't screaming at each other that he would find another truth—there was one thing he wished he could just do without a second thought. It was embarrassing but true that he, Apollo, wanted desperately to kiss one Kara Thrace.

He had no idea what her reaction would be and there in lied the problem. He wasn't worried about angering her. He had been the cause of that infamous anger too many times to count. He wasn't worried about her kissing him back because then…well that was a fantasy he tried not to indulge in too often. What he was afraid of was offending her to the point of losing the fragile relationship they did have at the moment—however it could be defined.

He contemplated what was no his Great Starbuck Debate far too often. He had long ago given up trying to figure out his attraction to her. In fact, the more he thought of her, the more he realized how well the two of them would complement each other. And so, he gather information, he mentally recorded each interaction, and when he had learned enough he could do it. Then and only then.

Recently they had taken to fighting all the time but that really didn't bother Lee all that much. He was privy to a well-guarded Starbuck secret—she only lost it like that with two types of people. The first, and largest group was those who she really did hate. The people she wouldn't even attempt civility with. Tigh belonged in this group. The second, and far more select group, was those who she trusted enough to know that no matter how much she screamed they would never leaver her. He might not know how she would react to a kiss but Lee knew he was in this second group. It was a step forward by his calculations.

In fact, he had been pretty confident until she slept with Dr. Baltar. It was then he was reminded that Kara was someone who just took what she wanted. There was no way she was waiting around for him to make his move. If she wanted him she would have let him know by now. The sudden pain was so intense that he lashed out. He hit her back. You didn't have to have Lee's thought process to see that as a giant step back.

And now she was gone. Now that he had had the time to reflect on their last vicious encounter and realize the passion that had been in bother of them. Now that he realized his pain had been reflected in her eyes, not just the anger. Now that he knew the truth of her feelings. Now she was gone. He had hit her back and she left.

While Kara wasn't as strong as the front she put up, Lee knew that logically something more must have been going on in order for her to leave. It couldn't have just been him. But it didn't stop him from blaming himself at the core of his emotions. Gods she drove him crazy! She had no idea what her leaving would do to him. No idea the mess she left behind, the hole she left wide open. Lee no longer looked for indications that he should make a move. Now he looked for indications that she would make it back alive. And until then he would work on listening to his heart first.


End file.
